Coimbatore was part of Perurnadu, and in fact, Perur was the capital of this subdivision of Kongunad. The people of this region were familiar to trade in gold coins since the Sangam era and did a lot of trade with the Romans and other nationals belonging to the Mediterranean region.
Coimbatore was part of Perurnadu, and in fact, Perur was the capital of this subdivision of Kongunad. The people of this region were familiar to trade in gold coins since the Sangam era and did a lot of trade with the Romans and other nationals belonging to the Mediterranean region.
In spite of going down on a number of occasions, the territory bounced back with flying colors each time. The Cholas, the Kongu Cholas, the rulers of Vijaya Nagar empire and their feudatories the Naicks of Madurai, the Europeans were responsible for political changes of the Kongu region.
Thanks to cotton trade, ginning, development of the Nilgiris that Coimbatore became an important spot for business in the later part of the nineteenth century.
K.Ramakrishna Pillai was born in the last quarter of the nineteenth century to Krishna Pillai and Mariammal of Palakkad. He did his ' Thinnai Palli ' and plunged into the world of commerce on his own.
K.Ramakrishna Pillai (KR) began his life by sharing details of gold prices to the local traders. He was also a local valuables carrier who ensured that jewellery reached the destination. A small charge was received by him for his services and by the year 1910 KR founded a gold bullion refining outlet.
The goldsmiths and shopkeepers of that era used to flock to him in order to get their old jewelry purchases refined. KR was an excellent refiner and could guarantee 99.80% gold from his facility at all times.
He was also very good in assessing the quantum of gold and silver in zari from sarees. Hard working Ramakrishna Pillai used to process zari and extract both gold and silver. KR used to rub the zari on a slate and declare the purity instantly. He had picked up some knowledge about silver in the process connected with photography and this was helpful for him.
Refiner K.Ramakrishna Pillai used to keep copper sheets in a chemical solution every night and collect pure silver by morning. Similarly, he used to keep iron rods and collect copper during the day from the same solution. He got married to Janaki Ammal and the couple was blessed with nine children - Radhakrishnan, Ramalingam, Lakshmanan, Mani, Shanmugham, Loganathan, Dhanalakshmi Chellamuthu, Rajam Nathamuni and Vasantha Vijayagopal. The family lived in Vysial Street before moving over to Big Bazaar Street.
The famous Dr.S.R.Srikantan used to have a clinic in his residence for a long time. The gold billets from KR were quite popular those days and were much in demand. Quality conscious jewelers like S.T.Radhakrishna Chettiar used to purchase gold bullion from K.Ramakrishna Pillai. KR used to get 500 tola bars from Mumbai and at times he used to do a short-term borrowing based on bullion with T.V Brothers. He sold gold sovereigns in big numbers everyday and there were days when he would sell up to 1200 of them.
K.Ramakrishna Pillai, the refiner established the K.R & Sons Jewellery in the year 1934 at Big Bazaar Street and the business became a big hit. A lot of people from Coimbatore and its neighborhoods became his customers. The outlet used to have an address register with thousands of names and addresses. The son in law Chellamuthu and the sons of Ramakrishna Pillai were involved in the running of K.R & Sons.
Those were the times when they went by Jutka to do business with the rich and famous of this region. New designs, decent packaging materials, smiling service, attention to detail became the mainstay of the KR family and this helped them to reach the pinnacle. The family members had friends among the high and mighty from all over Tamilnadu. Beginning with K.Ramakrishna Pillai, a number of his family members served as office bearers in the Coimbatore Jewellers Association for decades.
Dhoti-clad K.Ramakrishna Pillai used to have his oil bath while positioning himself on a huge silver plate. He used to have his food on a very large silver plate and sleep on a rosewood plank which was four feet by eight feet. It was about three inches plus thick and it came along from Burma with a similar piece at the behest of Dr.R.K.Shanmukham Chetty, the Finance Minister of independent India who had acquired it for himself. KR was a teetotaler and never liked clubbing or gambling. He used to sport huge emerald and diamond rings at all times. K.Ramakrishna Pillai used to visit his Kuladeivam Arulmigu Ankalaparameswariamman regularly.
The workaholic of a man had friends in C.S Arumugam Chettiar and Krishna Iyer, the father of N.K.Mahadeva Iyer of Sri Krishna Sweets who had also founded the restaurant Sri Krishna Bhavan on Big Bazaar Street. K.Ramakrishna Pillai used to seek the advice of jeweler P.A.Raju Chettiar while making long-term investments and was close to him all his life.
K.Ramakrishna Pillai lived for more than 80 years and his life was marked by quality, efficiency and hard work. Jewellers like K.Ramakrishna Pillai were among the few who made a name for themselves while adding value to the jewelry business of Coimbatore.